How to Extend the Life of Printer Toner

by Melissa King, Demand Media

A well-maintained toner cartridge lets you print hundreds of documents.

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When you use your printer daily to produce color-rich, high-quality images and documents for your business, your toner or ink supply tends to run out quickly. If you need to use your printer frequently, buying new toner cartridges cuts into your business' supply budget. By properly maintaining your printer and toner, you won't need to buy cartridges as often. Adjusting your printer's settings and regularly cleaning the cartridges will help you save toner and money. You can also extend the life of toner cartridges with a single piece of masking tape.

Step 1

Put your printer in draft or economy mode if you don't need to print high-quality documents. This setting uses less ink but still produces a legible document.

Step 2

Print only when you need to. If you can keep an electronic copy of the document on your computer, you may not need a paper copy, too.

Print documents in black and white, or grayscale, unless you must use color.

Step 4

Change your font to Century Gothic or Ecofont. These fonts use much less toner than other fonts, such as Times New Roman or Arial.

Step 5

Use the printer regularly to prevent toner from drying up. Cartridge nozzles often get clogged if not used for a long time.

Step 6

Turn the printer off when it is not in use. When turned off, the printer keeps the cartridges sealed so the ink does not dry out.

Step 7

Run your printer's cartridge cleaning tool once a week. This tool can correct streaked or misaligned printing.

Step 8

Store unused toner cartridges properly to extend their life. Keep the cartridges sealed in the original packaging until you wan to use them. Put cartridges in an upright position in a cool place.

Step 9

Have a printing company handle large jobs, especially if you need to print many color images. It may cost less to have another company print the documents for you.

Step 10

Shake the toner cartridge gently back and forth when the low toner warning message appears on your printer. This may allow you to print a few more documents.

Step 11

Remove the toner from the printer and put a small piece of masking tape over the window or drum. This disables the low-toner sensor, so you can continue to print even when the cartridge is running low on toner.

Tip

To save paper, use the double-sided page feature of your printer. This feature lets you print on both sides of a page.

About the Author

Melissa King began writing in 2001. She spent three years writing for her local newspaper, "The Colt," writing editorials, news stories, product reviews and entertainment pieces. She is also the owner and operator of Howbert Freelance Writing. King holds an Associate of Arts in communications from Tarrant County College.

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